The February 2026 issue of Booklist contains 4 of my horror reviews. These are also the final reviews I turned in during calendar year 2025, so it feels nice to close the books on last year as well.
Since there are 4 reviews and I had 2 starred reviews and 2 glowing general reviews, I thought I would break them up here over 2 days on the blog.
As usual, this post contains my draft review and bonus appeal and readalike information along with my three words.
First up a review of the book that is also today's #HorrorForLibraries giveaway.
Gulpepper, an isolated harbor town in Australia, known by locals as The Gulp, is not too unlike the small towns horror readers have encountered before (think King’s Castle Rock novels), and yet, in Baxter’s hands the well worn trope is pulsating with terror and life, even as the town itself leads many to their deaths. In this volume of five novellas, the third in a series, Baxter explicitly warns readers that The Gulp is notorious for swallowing people, that there is no hope for these characters which gets readers invested in immediately, and yet, despite that, readers will hold out hope that just this once, it will work out, every single time. “Sunlight on Clear Water,” which follows a young man, new to town, as he meets the girl of his dreams, exemplifies this well. The immersive setting and lingering dread will follow readers off the page and have them asking for more. A great read for the legions of readers who love to enter sinister small towns full of monsters, both human and supernatural.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Strong Sense of Place, lingering terror, novellas
Further Appeal:
Okay first things first-- if Baxter lived in America he would be more popular here. And specifically these Tales from the Gulp-- 3 books of novellas now-- create a connected mythos for fans of King's Castle Rock. I hope this review in Booklist will encourage libraries to add all three volumes of Tales from the Gulp to their collections.
The set up is easy and one you have heard before-- an extremely haunted and sinister town. Here it is Gulpepper, a small harbor town in Australia. One that locals are used to but that holds forces that will literally eat you alive. Nothing good will happen to you here. And The Gulp is never satisfied.
However, in Baxter's hands, the trope is never stale. We know bad things are going to happen and yet, we keep reading. He makes the reader care about the characters and even hope things will turn out okay this time. EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THEY WILL NOT. That is some good storytelling. Great sense of places, just the right amount of connected mythos, and excellently drawn characters we care about.
In terms of the specific stories here. The second and fourth are my favorites. The second follows a kid who is new to town and meets the girl of his dreams (but it is The Gulp so...) and the fourth-- when a movie star goes to a retreat to detox and relax but it is in The Gulp. Both are a perfect example of what I say in the paragraph above.
Readalikes: As I said above, if Baxter was American, we would see his books everywhere. Here is how I know-- because I kept thinking of readalikes. here are a few that popped in my head immediately.
Anything by Owl Goingback– his FL books are a perfect match. It by King, We Are Always Tender with our Dead by LaRocca, Any of the Wayward Pines books by Blake Crouch, Hex by Olde Heuvelt, The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste, Jackal by Erin Adams And this is just a start.
Again, if you are interested, The Rise is this week's #HorrorForLibraries giveaway.
First published February 1, 2026 (Booklist).
Beginning with a quote from The Picture of Dorian Grey, Brown’s horror debut more than delivers on that ominous foreshadowing with a tale that begins uneasily and steadily builds to all consuming terror. Tilly lives in an America where a virus that decimated the sperm counts of men has greatly altered how people live. The mother of a young daughter, Tilly is still reeling from the loss of her second, but when she is personally called upon to restore a previously thought to be lost painting by a mysterious and macabre artist, Tilly is excited and energized. As she works to free the painting from layers of soot, it quickly becomes apparent that painting is pulsating with life, and the painter herself may be reaching out for Tilly from the beyond grave to take back what she lost, at any cost. Compelling, immersive, and psychologically unnerving, suggest to fans of cursed art horror in the vein of Black Flame by Felker-Martin or surveillance state, fertility horror like Womb City by Tsamaase.
Three Words That Describe This Book: near future dystopia, art horror, psychological horror
Further Appeal: Beginning with more words-- Horror debut by an established author, fertility horror, art restoration, haunted painting, trauma, surveillance state horror, immersive, visceral (paintings were made with blood, fingernails, insect wings), unreliable narrator-- only Tilly. She is all we know. Can't see her husband, friends, kid, mother in law's perspective.
One Before Chapter to set the stage and introduce the reader to the artist-- Charlotte LeClerc who painting Tilly will be restoring for the bulk of this book. The backstory about the artist is haunting, macabre, and as we find out-- threatening. Tilly's mom restored LeClerc's painting, THE CHILD, and now Tilly is doing THE MOTHER. LeClerc died in a fire as she was working on THE MOTHER.
Then we have the "Now" chapters. the action. Everything is in Tilly's point of view, in conversational language, she is clearly telling the reader her story because at the end of a few chapters, she tells us that things are about to get worse-- which in "now" chapters was a bit odd. How can she know that?
There is an "After" for the ending.
This book has a few too many frames. I think the frame of a near future where floods and fires have changed the world in ways that are hinted at but not explored was not helpful. We could have easily had hey there was a virus, men have compromised sperm counts, that's why there is all this fertility surveillance. Why add in the climate change, fires, storms. There is a big storm at the end but there could have just been a big storm. It takes place in Savannah. They have big storms now.
The intense fertility surveillance and the "supporting" pregnant people and new mothers is not that far off from life now.
There were also a lot of extraneous details and side plots that did not pay off for the amount of pages needed for them. Some I am like, hmmmm where did that go, others are completely left dangling.
But library patrons will enjoy the immersive horror here. The psychological horror of the painting– is it haunted, is it out to get Tilly, is it moving into the real world, OR is all of this in Tilly's head? Is she so damaged from her life (multiple things) that she is having a complete breakdown? Readers will get caught up in all of it. There is good use of all five senses here to invoke a real sense of unease, anxiety, and eventually all out terror.
There is a lot of great detail about art restoration as well. That was very cool.
I fall on the side of the haunted painting but there is information here for both, especially for when she avoids her therapist friend on purpose towards the end of the book. (Side note, the therapist and her wife are an example of a side story that is developed and then just dropped)
Further Readalikes: Besides the two above, I also thought that readers who enjoyed Bethany Morrow's The Body would also like this. They are nothing in terms to subject, but the appeal is similar.
It Rides a Pale Horse by Andy Marino is another recent artist focused horror story.
